I just finished up a 10pm to 10pm fast yesterday and it was kind of rough, I must say. I hadn't been eating well because of the loss I suffered (thanks to Italiannie & PaintedButterly for your kind words) and it was extremely difficult to not eat within that period of time. I plan on doing a 7pm to 7pm fast on Thursday and I'm hoping it will be a lot easier.
Hi! I love the idea behind IF, its putting it into practice that has really got me!!
Yesturday I ate nothing but some fruit through the day and then ate some dinner at 6pm - which would have been a 24 hour fast if I hadn't eaten the fruit. Then a massive binge urge came over me and I ate a tonne of ice cream (not out of control binge mode, but i wanted food!). So today I have started again but I had a protein shake at about 9am, so yeah I know I'm not technically fasting but I dont want to end up so ravenous that I stuff my face come 6pm.
Does anyone have any advice? I am pretty hungry by about 11am, but I LOVE a biiig dinner and to feel full up which is why I want to adopt IF. I'm wondering whether fast 5 would be a better aprroach for me? Maybe having an eating window between 3pm-8pm may stop me getting ravenous at night?
Hmm I don't know, I am just thinking out loud!
Italiannie I have read your blog and I am always fascinated to read peoples IF implementations. I am convinced this is the right approach for me but boredom at my desk through the day seems to make this quite hard!!
Hi Sophie, Glad you're back! Can't wait to hear what you have to share about ESE.
OK, I think because many of us are new to this or renewed to it, we have to remember that fasting is somewhat of a skill. It may not come to everyone right away. It will get easier with time. It certainly has begun to come much easier to me within the last several days, although I must say that I have really only had one very difficult day in the last several weeks.
LondonGirl88 - If you want to give IF a try, instead of eating throughout the day, even though what you're eating sounds fine, try to start with a window of no-eating, 4 hours for a few days, 5 hours for a few days and on.
I think that you could adjust to the Fast-5 format easily. Maybe you should drink a no cal bev in the morning, eat something at your 11am time and then a little something again at 3pm and really work at not eating between and then break your fast at 5ish. You will have stomach rumbles, but you will survive, Then after a few days, move your 11am to 10:30 and your 3:00 to 3:30. It may take you a few weeks to work up to an eating window of 5-9 or something, but concentrate on getting the process correct, and eating healthy foods and the rest will follow automatically. If you rush it, and you starve then binge, you risk selling yourself short. This is just one thing to try. Once you master the Fast-5 you will be in good shape. Then, you will have the skills to try ESE and can decide which is best for you.
Paintedbutterfly - You are definitely on the right track. I think you just need to play with it, maybe eat lighter food, that is easier to digest.
Sapphiregirl - So glad you're getting through your loss. Congratulations on finishing your fast. 7-7 would be hard for me, so my hat's off to you. I always have to do a 5-5 or so.
I'm off to my blog. I'm a day behind. I need to write what I've learned about myself and eating.
Keep going, everyone. Don't forget to check in so we can encourage each other.
Well I was down again today on the scale hehe (although only 0.3lb but I'm still calling it a loss :P. We'll see what I weigh in as this later this morning (it's 3am now) cos then I can report back my loss after a week of ESE.. I know that's the kind of thing I look at if I'm considering starting a diet) I'm liking this but I am expecting the weight loss to slow and for there to be fluctuations and am being realistic in thinking about that.
I'm on my 4th fast today and wow aren't I hungry? It's probably not helped by the fact I fell asleep during the day and slept through lunch so only had two meals yesterday (breakfast and dinner) instead of 3 :\
Also cos I live on a farm and we're lambing tonight it's my job to stay up and see if the sheep are lambing so that means I'm not going to be asleep during any of this 24 hours of fast which I think is going to make it harder so wish me luck and support guys cos I think I'm going to need it!
I'm drinking a lemon juice, cayenne pepper, honey concoction now though (only a tsp of honey so hopefully that's not cheating :P and yeah some may recognise that as the variant of the master cleanse which I am NOT doing and do NOT recommend it's just I find the drink does help quell hunger pains when fasting) and that's helping a lot with the hunger pains. I'm thinking about planning to do my second fast of this week on Saturday but if I stick to only fasting twice a week that'll be a 5 day gap between fasts.. does that matter? I realise I actually did 3 days in a week this first week lol.. I don't know why I didn't realise that but I'm thinking it might not be a great idea to repeat that.
I'm going to follow your lead Italianne and eat something like fruit when breaking the fast at 7pm before eating a meal.
That's interesting that you're planning on doing this for life! My plan is (when I've reached goal) to just continue to eat how I do on the in-between days- on a low GI diet cos I find that's good for me.. but I suppose the odd fasting day could help.
Last edited by PaintedButterfly; 01-04-2012 at 10:06 PM.
Fasting can be really tough the first few weeks. But after a while most feel much better than before. I love the energy and clarity of mind I get during the fasting period of the day. Green tea/coffee/yerba mate can help a lot with energy issues during the initial transition period. AND, it's also very wise to drink green tea/coffee/yerba mate regardless, when fasting, because the fat burning aspects get's even stronger when you drink these while fasting.
PaintedButterfly - How many fasts a week are you doing? If you are doing 24 hour fasts, you may be doing too many, especially as your job is so physical. Remember that long term skills will give you the ultimate benefits. You're doing so well, I want to encourage you to be able to keep it up.
I'm figuring that the calorie deficit IF is creating will help me lose 1-2lbs per week. I'm working to eat light, during my eating phases to be closer to the 2lb mark.
I will probably do IF for the rest of my life. I'm a foodie and I love to entertain, and I need to compensate for that, as I really want to be over the yo yo thing. Eventually I will do it as for maintenance - doing one 24 hour fast per week or doing Fast-5 five days of the week, whichever works best for me. I think the benefits of Intermittent Fasting go beyond weight loss. As Gabbah mentioned, my energy is better, more clarity of mind, and I believe the body heals itself etc, when it is has a break from digesting food.
How is everyone else faring? Just remember, work with your chosen program until you tweak it enough to work. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Last edited by Italiannie; 01-05-2012 at 08:11 AM.
I am doing better today - no fruit! I am going to break my fast at 3pm and have a protein shake and some fruit, then I will have my dinner at about 7pm and stop eating. This morning was really hard, such loud stomach rumbles but I have been strong!
Could I do Fast 5 everyday? If not, what do you do on the other days?
Hi Londongirl,
Fast-5 is daily. You fast for 19 hours and choose a 5 hour window to eat. There are times when I find it much easier that ESE, and visa/versa. It depends on what my week looks like. When I'm doing Fast-5, my eating window is from 5pm to 9pm. They have a web page and their manual is a free download. Go for it. They haven't sent me any spam or tried to sell me anything. Google Fast-5 and you will find it.
There are benefits to doing a complete 24 hour fast, but 19 hours also has benefits. I think the long term benefits are probably similar. Experiment with each of them for several weeks until you find what works for you. I'm on Fast-5 this week, after 2 weeks of ESE.
Italiannie thanks for the advice - I think I will try Fast 5 every day for a week and see what my results are and if its gotten any easier by the end. Do you still count the calories of what you do eat?
I do not count calories per se, but I am very mindful of what I eat. I only worry about calories when I think I may be over the top. Then I run some quick numbers in my head. I find that with the 5 hour eating window, I can be very satisfied with about 1200 calories. A couple of pieces of fruit, an 800-900 calorie dinner and something later on if I want or need.
There is no way I could stay under 1200 if I were eating all day. I'm a foodie, love to cook, etc.
I eat what I want, but I don't eat junk. I concentrate of real, whole foods. The only fake food I eat are some low cal pudding cups at 60 cals each. But for the rest, it's real stuff. Loads of vegis, of course, but whatever I am feeding my family is what I eat. Over Christmas, I drank wine, ate Italian pastries, etc. But that would not be my normal pattern.
The key is to eat regularly, eat intelligently, just eat less often.
Welcome Princess Sophia, Also try Brad Pilon's web page on ESE. He also has tons of informative videos on YouTube. I've had great success in the past, and have just recently committed to making it a lifestyle choice. The first few fasts are the hardest.
I really have gotten used to it by now, and it is becoming second nature. I have quite a bit to lose, but because I'm committed to the process, I know the weight will follow. Done with yo yo.
I also wanted to mention a blogger who I came across a while ago. Google "retired dieter" He's got a great IF story.
I find these things very inspirational, especially on tough days.
Hmm.. I've basically gained back all the weight I lost lol after two days eating properly... I might consider changing plans as I just feel too washed out and faint during this...
(although only 0.3lb but I'm still calling it a loss :P. We'll see what I weigh in as this later this morning (it's 3am now) cos then I can report back my loss after a week of ESE.. I know that's the kind of thing I look at if I'm considering starting a diet) I'm liking this but I am expecting the weight loss to slow and for there to be fluctuations and am being realistic in thinking about that.
and wow aren't I hungry? It's probably not helped by the fact I fell asleep during the day and slept through lunch so only had two meals yesterday (breakfast and dinner) instead of 3 :\
